


Tachycardia

by DearFellowTraveller



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Amputation, Angel is like 17, Angst, Blood, Eventual Smut, Flirting, Fluff, Good Dad Jack, Hurt/Comfort, I can't tag sorry, Injury, Jack is a bit less of an asshole, M/M, Mentions of Death, Modern AU, Multi, Rhys doesn't take Jack's shiz, Rhys is a vet, Violence, but he still is, definitely NOT a slow burn because I'm weak, duo of powerful idiots in love, if you're grossed out by medical/vet stuff I wouldn't read this I'm sorry, lots of swearing, more like a fast burn, surgeries, will get his cybernetic arm later oops, will probs add more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:38:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearFellowTraveller/pseuds/DearFellowTraveller
Summary: A Modern AU.Handsome Jack is the powerful CEO of Hyperion, the world’s most advanced manufacturer of weapons and robotics. Rhys is a renowned veterinarian, running a small but successful clinic. Although both are located in the city of Helios, they live in very different worlds. One would think they’d never have a chance to meet. That is, until Handsome Jack’s beloved doberman gets sick.





	1. A New Client

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy, another fic. This one is a lot easier for me to write since I don't have to stick solely to what I think I know about the Borderlands universe, haha. Had this idea for a while now and thought I'd make a story out of it. I apologize if it starts off boring. c':
> 
> Someone suggested the last name "Parker" for Rhys and I couldn't think of anything else, so I went with it.  
> And for those who don't know, "DVM" stands for doctor of veterinary medicine.  
> And for those curious about the title, tachycardia is a rapid heart beat ;^)
> 
> Hope you like it!

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

 

“Pass me that hemostat, would you?”

 

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

 

“Yeah, that one. Wait no, the one to the right.”

 

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

 

“Ha, oh my god, _no_. That's a retractor, Jamie. I'm trying to close this off, not rip it open.”

 

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

 

“Yes! Yes, that one. Thank you.”

 

 

\- - -

 

 

“Excuse me, Miss Emily?” A voice called into the waiting room. A younger woman glanced up eagerly, looking to the doctor who had just entered the room. The poor thing had stayed at the clinic for hours waiting to hear the news.

 

“I am happy to inform you that the surgery went well,” the doctor reported, granting her a warm smile. The woman responded with a smile of her own and some teary-eyed gratitude.

 

“Oh man, what a relief. I've been so worried. Thank you so much, Dr. Parker! Is he okay to come home today?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, of course.” The DVM looked at his watch. “I'd say another half hour? We're waking him up now. We'll get his medications ready for you as well. I'll be back out shortly with those and the directions, okay? Thank you for your patience.”

 

Emily nodded, watching the doctor as he turned around and pushed through a green door to disappear yet again into the back of the clinic.

 

 

\- - -

 

 

Rhys Parker was the star of the Helios Animal Clinic, or HAC for short. Aside from the fact that he actually owned the place, he was also very well recognized in his field. He and his team were unmatched, and they were the only ones in the immediate area that offered 24/7 emergency services. There were multiple veterinarians on staff at all times, hired by Rhys himself, along with several technicians and assistants. While he normally only worked from 8am-7pm on week days, he was always on call. If there was a particularly difficult case, the other vets could call him in for an extra opinion or set of hands, even if that meant getting up at one in the morning and surviving solely off of coffee. He didn't welcome those sleepless nights, but saving an animal always made it worth while. Fortunately Rhys lived close by as well, so if he were to be called in late or on a day off it wasn't too bad of a drive. About ten minutes tops.

 

It was no wonder that he was such a well liked vet. It hadn't taken long for Rhys to advance in his field. He was smart to begin with, but with the enhancement of an ECHO eye implant it was rare to come across a DVM with better diagnostic skills. He could easily read the heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and more on a patient with such a tool as his disposal. It also assisted him during surgeries when he had to focus in on something very small or peculiar. It had many uses that kept him a step ahead of everyone else, and he loved it. He _loved_ his job.

 

Unfortunately for him, it was almost time to return home for the day. It was 6:47pm, and his regular shift ended at seven on the dot. True, he owned the clinic and he could stay as long as he wanted and no one could stop him. But he made a promise to himself to make an effort of going home on time so he could get the proper rest he knew needed. It wasn't too hard to convince himself, though. Even his staff tried to make sure he didn't overwork himself since it had happened in the past. It landed him at home for a couple days, and he'd hated it. 

 

He let his thoughts drift to his bed which resulted in him to letting out a yawn. Stretching his arms in the air, he approached the pharmacy near the back of the clinic. For obvious reasons it was only accessible to the staff, excluding interns. Unsurprisingly, a few interns in the past had tried to get in and steal some of the pricier substances. Some of the classes – or 'schedules', as they were actually called – of drugs were either very expensive or very easy to abuse. Sometimes both. As annoying as it was to have to unlock and relock the door each time he had to go in there (because it was several times per day), it was better than losing inventory.

 

Taking out the old and worn key, Rhys unlocked the door and went inside. The motion activated light turned on, the presence of its usual flicker greeting him among the dull lighting. Some day he'd change that bulb out. _Some day_.

 

He grabbed a couple bottles from the extensive shelving and placed them onto the dark green counter. The place was fully stocked with medicine, and they actually went through it pretty fast. It felt like every three weeks he'd have to order more. Not that it was much of a problem with the income of the clinic.

 

The cabinet above the sink held a stock of empty pill containers that came in varying sizes. Those were what he put the prescriptions into. He'd have to put the labels on them as well.

 

Counting out the pills, he thought about Jamie, who was his newest (and only) intern.

 

Rhys knew Jamie was a nice guy, but his skills were less than spectacular. He hoped that with a few more weeks of training that would change. It had been a while since he'd taken on an intern at the clinic, but it was a pretty busy season and he could use the extra help, even if the help was a little oblivious.

 

Right now, he thought, Jamie should be printing out the home care instructions. “Hopefully that's what he's doing,” Rhys sighed.

 

After the correct quantities of the various medications had been placed into the bottles, Rhys made the prescription labels and placed them on carefully, ensuring to get the right labels on the right bottles. It would be disastrous if he were to get them wrong. Of course, he never had, and probably never will. Knock on wood.

 

Returning to the front of the clinic, Rhys searched for his intern, finally finding him at the printer where he was leaning against the closest wall, browsing through his phone and zoning out next to the machine as it spat out the copies of the instructions. Well, the kid was technically doing what he was supposed to, but the doctor wasn't about to let him stand around.

 

“Hey Jamie,” he said, watching the intern jump and scramble to put his phone away.

 

“Y-yes?”

 

“Relax,” Rhys laughed. “Could you pack these bottles in a bag for me while I go through the home care with her?” he then asked, and Jamie nodded. “Yep! Can do.”

 

“Thank youuu,” the DVM said, his intern already around the corner.

 

The papers he picked up from the printer were still warm as he stapled them together. After giving them a once over, he found his way back to the waiting room where Emily was sitting quietly, looking out the window to her right.

 

They had a pretty nice waiting and reception area. It was open and spacious, white walls decorated here and there with posters of animals and informational signs. There were benches with cushions and a few comfy chairs to sit in. The entire front of the clinic was windowed, allowing for a decent view of the city park across the street. Rhys would often take his lunch over there. Despite it being a city, the outside air was pretty refreshing.

 

“Hey there,” Rhys said, catching Emily's attention again.

 

“Oh! Hello.” She glanced at the packet in his hand. “Are those the instructions?”

 

“Yes ma’am,” he replied, sitting down next to her on the bench, adjusting his white lab coat so he didn't sit on it.

 

“Alrighty, so there isn't too much work for you. This one,” Rhys pointed to one of the drug names on the first sheet. Emily listened carefully. “This one you give once in the morning and once at night. Not the best tasting stuff, so maybe mix it with some food he likes. He's on wet food as you told me, so it'd probably be easy to just shove it in there."

 

The woman nodded. “Okay, I can do that.”

 

“And one more thing...,” Rhys looked over the paper. “Ah, here.” He moved his finger down the page and hovered it over name of the other medication. “This one you give once a day. It's up to you when you want to give it, but I'd encourage you to keep it around the same time each day. This is the blue one. The other is light green. They'll be labeled anyway, and what I just told you is on the second page, so no need to remember it.”

 

She nodded again. “Got it.”

 

Rhys handed her the packet, offering a smile. “That's all I have for you then. A tech will bring out Brinkley shortly, so hang tight, okay? Have a good night,” he said, waving at her. She reciprocated the wave with a smile. “Thank you!”

 

As soon as Rhys returned to the rear of the clinic, he slipped off his lab coat and placed it on a chair, revealing more clearly now his dark blue scrubs and black long-sleeved undershirt. He sat down, breathing a sigh of relief as he took the chance to get off of his feet. It had been a pretty long day. Two emergency surgeries and a few really rowdy patients. The job required a lot more stamina than one would think, both physically and mentally. But at least the day was over, and he could return home to recharge. Or so he thought, until a familiar sound arose from his left.

 

 

The phone was ringing.

 

 

\- - - - -

 

 

“What the hell do you mean _sick_? Tim, I don't have time for this, I have a meeting in five. He probably just ate something he shouldn't have.”

 

“ _That's just it, Jack. I just put his food down and he didn't eat at all. He's always begging for food, but he threw up this afternoon he's just been lazing around and lookin' all sad. He wouldn't even walk with Angel today. There's something really wrong.”_

 

“Ugh, damn it, Warrior... Alright, I'll be there soon.”

 

The disgruntled man hung up the phone, stuffing it into the right pocket of his sleek black jacket. He rolled his chair to the opposite side of his desk and aligned himself with his keyboard. He quickly typed up an email and sent it out. Basically a 'fuck you, I'm not showing' email that was automatically sent to whatever idiots he was supposed to be meeting with. Perhaps with a _little_ more class, but not much. Running your own company had its perks, which included being a total dick with no fear of the consequences. Especially when that company was Hyperion.

 

Jack Lawrence, or Handsome Jack as he was commonly referred to, was the man that ran it all. Hyperion was the most successful manufacturer in the world, and he knew it. Everyone did. The CEO was attractive, powerful, and intelligent. A symbol of success.

 

He was also the kind of man to skip work for his dog.

 

In the beginning the silly canine hadn't meant much to him personally. He'd let his daughter pick one out for her 14th birthday, and she brought him a flyer for some doberman puppies that were for sale. He agreed, and the pup they got grew into a rather fierce looking companion, but one with a heart of gold. Angel had jokingly called him a 'warrior' after the dog had torn apart one of his toys the day after they got him. Devastated the thing! It made a huge mess, but it was a fun spectacle. Well, until they had to clean up all the stuffing he'd tossed around the room.

 

The name had ended up sticking, so Warrior it was.

 

And that dog, Jack had to admit, grew on him quickly. He had been a part of the family for about three years and counting now. They'd bonded well, even though Angel was and _always_ will be the favorite human. She was the one that walked him and gave him treats, while Jack and his twin brother Timothy were the ones that brought him to the vet or put him in the kennel when he misbehaved.

 

By the look of things, it was going to be a real unpleasant visit to the veterinarian.

 

Jack had arrived home twenty minutes after he'd gotten the call from his brother, and he didn't like what he saw when he walked in. Angel and Tim were sitting next to Warrior, who appeared to be in the middle of vomiting again.

 

“Dad,” Angel sobbed, wiping at her eyes. “He needs to go to the vet _now_.”

 

Jack walked over, taking in the state of his companion. He was more of an optimistic type when it came to animal illness, since more often than not the dog just ate something he shouldn't have, but he had to admit the poor thing definitely didn't look good. “Alright, get him into the car, Angel.” She only nodded, sniffling and standing up to go get the leash from the garage.

 

“Tim, is our vet even open right now?” Jack asked. His brother shrugged, still sitting next to Warrior and giving him comforting strokes.

 

Whipping out his phone and searching the name of their usual clinic, Jack found out that they were shit out of luck. It had closed two hours ago. “Damn, it's not open. Guess I could look for a different place.”

 

He typed into the search bar 'open vets near me'. Hitting search, a few locations came up, but only one of them was really close by. They weren't closed. In fact, it was a 24/7 clinic. _Perfect_.

 

“Alright, I found one. I'll call them and let em know we're coming.”

 

Timothy nodded, getting to his feet after giving Warrior one last pat. “Want me to go with you?”

 

Jack shook his head and grinned. “Nah man, someone's gotta stay here and clean this mess up.” He gestured to the few piles of bile or whatever the hell it was the poor dog managed to hack up.

 

“Greaaat, _thanks_ ,” Timothy said with a sarcastically cheerful tone of voice. He headed off to the closet where they kept most of their cleaning materials.

 

Angel had finally come back from the garage with the leash, but her appearance didn't last long. She clipped the black leather lead onto the loop of Warrior's fancy diamond-studded collar, tugging it gently. “Come on buddy,” she urged. “Let's get you some help.” She soon disappeared out the front door with Warrior lethargically in tow.

 

Jack tapped on his phone screen, hitting a link which brought him to the website of the 24/7 clinic. “The Helios Animal Clinic,” he spoke quietly to himself. He scrolled around until he found the phone number near the bottom where it was highlighted.

 

He made the call, and after two rings he received an answer.

 

“ _Thank you for calling the HAC, this is Rhys, how can I help you?”_

 

 


	2. Diagnosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, an update! Finally.  
> My writing is no less horrid than it was the first time, but I enjoyed writing it nonetheless. So maybe you'll enjoy reading. Let me know if you do. <3
> 
> Apparently this isn't going to be even remotely a slow burn.  
> More of a near-immediate 3rd degree burn. Woopsies.

_“_ _Rhys?_ _Yeah, hey. My dog's sick. Can you take him right away?”_

  


Rhys blinked. The guy was pretty straightforward, wasn’t he?

  


“Yeah,” the DVM replied. “We can. Any idea what's wrong?”

  


“ _No clue.”_

  


“Okay, no problem. Just bring him on over and I'll have a look at him. May I take your name?”

  


“ _It's Jack.”_

  


“Jack,” he repeated, taking a mental note. “Okay, I'll see you soon then.”

  


He didn't even get a reply, only hearing a bit of a rustle before a short _click_ as the other line disconnected. “Oh, _okay_.” Lovely, he thought. It was one of _those_ clients.

  


Rhys had dealt with difficult people numerous times in the past. And while he was more than used to it, he was way too exhausted at the moment to deal with someone's shitty attitude. He'd messed up, saying that he would examine the dog _himself_. Guess he had no choice now. He could always hand the client off to another veterinarian, but he wasn't so cruel as to direct someone so incredibly unpleasant to one of his employees.

  


“Well, back to work then I guess,” Rhys grumbled, getting up from his chair and lifting his lab coat off the back of it so he could put it on again. He definitely wouldn't be leaving work on time. It wasn't the work he wasn't looking forward to, though. It was this 'Jack' fellow. He'd just have to suck it up. “Do it for the dog, Rhys,” he told himself. “Do it for the _dog_.”

  


Making his way to the front of the clinic, Rhys made sure to inform everyone he saw along the way that they had a potential emergency case coming in. Even though the guy on the phone hadn't said anything like 'I think my dog's dying', he always liked to be prepared. And if someone was concerned enough about their pet not to make an appointment and come in during the emergency hours, then there was even more reason to believe it could be a big deal.

  


_Darn_ , he thought. He'd forgotten to ask how far away the client was so he could estimate an arrival time. He would have to hurry and prepare an examination room. What if they lived right next door? As unlikely as that was, a similar situation happened in the past where the person was located just two buildings down the road and they had been severely unprepared for their arrival. It was pretty embarrassing, but fortunately the client was very understanding. Since most of the nearby buildings were actually apartments it wasn't entirely unbelievable that this would happen, though.

  


Rhys arrived in the reception area where there was an assistant at the desk acting as the resident receptionist for the time being. She was the one that directed calls around the clinic when they came in, or sometimes if she was busy she’d send them off somewhere else to make it someone else’s business, which was fine by Rhys. He didn’t like his workers feeling, well, overworked.

  


After informing her of the situation, he hustled to find a clean exam room. Luckily the very first room he entered was spotless and ready to receive a patient. Good, he would use that one. He stepped out into the hallway and looked to the small whiteboard that was hanging from a nail on the door of the selected room. Using the blue marker that was attached to it, he wrote 'Client: Jack' so he could reserve the space in case someone else came in with another pet. Emergencies, or even potential ones, were always handled first. He preferred to keep the closest rooms open for such cases.

  


Placing the marker back into its holder, Rhys now made his way to the break room in search of one of his technicians. Most patients that came in he could handle entirely on his own, but if it was something urgent he would more than likely need a second set of hands to help him set up and get the dog situated, especially if the dog wasn’t friendly with strangers. There was one girl he really enjoyed working with during emergencies. She was always so calm and collected and the effect rubbed off on everyone. She was on shift for another three hours, and since there were no patients being seen at the time he figured the best place to look was her favorite hang out spot. It sounded pretty normal to hang out in the break room, but a lot of the employees actually preferred to linger around near the back of the clinic or in some of the empty offices that had yet to be filled. He didn't mind, but it did make it harder to find people when he needed them. Fortunately, the technician he was seeking was almost always in the break room.

  


“Hey, it's the boss man. Need something?” The girl asked the moment Rhys walked in. She was talking rather loudly, but she must have been trying to speak over the noise of the television that was blaring some sort of comedic nonsense.

  


It was one of his more experienced technicians, Olivia. She'd been around since the beginning, and the two of them had become pretty close friends as well. He'd hired her fresh out of college, only a week after the HAC had even opened. She was a bit of a smartass, but she was reliable and fun to work with.

  


Rhys crossed his arms and smirked. “Hey, Vi. Might need your help.”

  


“That dog comin' in, yeah?” She assumed confidently. He hadn't talked to her personally about it, but he guessed that someone else informed her. The talk of the clinic always spread like a wildfire. It wasn't exactly a huge place after all.

  


“Yep,” he nodded. “You up for it?”

  


“Yeah, no prob! Just let me know if you need me.”

  


“Cool,” Rhys flashed her a finger gun. “I'll keep you posted then.”

  


She feigned injury, dramatic gasp and all, before returning the gesture. _What a dork._

  


Only moments after he exited the break room, Rhys heard the jingle of the bell strung up on the front door and the sound of a couple people walking in. He also heard the tapping sound of a dog's nails on the tile floor. The client must have arrived.

  


Time to present himself, even if he didn't want to. It wasn't that he disliked his job, but rather it was the _clients_ who could sometimes be less than pleasant. He tried not to judge them too much and give them the benefit of the doubt. A lot of them were just stressed out about their pets, which was perfectly reasonable. However, some of them were outright nasty, and he usually had a good judge of character.

  


Heading over to the green door that separated the rest of the clinic from the reception area, he stood there a moment to adjust his attire and rub a hand over his ginger brown hair to make sure he wasn't a complete mess. Had to look decent for the public, after all.

  


“Alright,” he whispered. Setting a hand on the door, he pushed it open and walked out to find himself looking at a younger girl holding the leash of a doberman and a man clad mostly in black leather who he assumed was the girl's father. The poor dog was hunched over as if he were in pain or about to wretch. It clearly wasn’t feeling very well.

  


“Hi there,” Rhys greeted them with the best smile he could muster. “Are you Jack?” He asked, looking at the older fellow.

  


The man turned turned away from the receptionist that he'd been chatting with, his attention now on the doctor. Rhys was a bit taken back when he finally got the full view. The guy was rugged looking, but actually really easy to look at. There was a large scar on his face that nearly distracted him from the fact that the guy had heterochromatic eyes. One was a beautiful shade of blue, and the other a vibrant green. Almost like his own, in fact, except his heterochromia wasn't natural. His ECHO eye implant was blue, much different from his right eye that demonstrated his natural color, which was a rich brown only a smidge lighter than his hair.

  


“The one and only. You Rhys?” The man inquired, taking a moment to look Rhys up and down as if he were studying him. The harsh and rather serious tone of his voice sent something of a shiver down the doctor's spine. _Damn_ , Rhys thought. This guy was something else. His presence felt so intimidating and demanding. Dare he say the guy was actually a bit _attractive_.

  


“Uh, yes. That’s me,” Rhys finally replied, trying his best not to stutter as he felt the stranger's gaze locked onto him. Now certainly wasn’t the time to be _eyeing_ someone Rhys, really? He was disappointed in himself. Besides, the guy had a daughter. It was probably a lost cause. “Dr. Parker, actually. A pleasure,” he continued, holding out a hand to the stranger.

  


The client paused a moment before finally grasping his hand with his own, shaking it up and down. The dude had a firm grip.“Pleasure’s all _mine_ , cupcake,” the man replied with a grin. Rhys saw his daughter elbow him in the side and shoot him a displeased look. “What?” Jack said defensively, chuckling at his daughter’s reaction.

  


_Cupcake? Oh my god_ , Rhys thought. Who even said that corny junk anymore? He smiled nonetheless, redirecting his attention to the doberman shortly after.

  


“And this must be my patient.” Rhys approached the dog, who for the most part ignored him aside from giving him a side eye as he got closer. He squatted down next to him, offering his hand out as a greeting, a gesture which was also received with indifference. Not even a sniff was given in return. That definitely wasn't normal.

  


“What’s his name?” Rhys questioned, giving the dog a visual once over as he waited on a response.

  


“His name’s Warrior,” replied the female holding the leash.

  


“Warrior, huh?” Rhys looked to the girl now. “That’s a strong name.”

  


She gave a half smile, but she was clearly upset. Her eyes were red as though she'd been crying. Rhys tried to offer her some calming words. Having some scares with his own animals in the past, he knew exactly how she felt. “Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. Do you want to lead him to the back with me?”

  


“Okay,” she nodded, wiping at her nose.

  


“I can examine him for free,” Rhys announced as he stood upright again, looking to Jack. “But any treatments beyond that will have a charge. I can get you a treatment plan with an estimate beforehand so you can decide what you want to do.”

  


Jack shrugged, crossing his arms. “Do whatever it takes to make him better, okay sweet cheeks? Cost isn't an issue here.”

  


Rhys frowned now. 'Sweet cheeks', seriously? First it was ‘cupcake’, but now that? He was beginning to get a bit tired of the pet name game. It was a little too unprofessional of an exchange for someone he’d just met. He thought it was a bit funny the first time, but now it was getting uncomfortable. The guy was acting too familiar – or perhaps smug – and Rhys wasn’t sure he liked it. The man was lucky he was handsome. Rhys normally didn’t tolerate that kind of talk. Not to mention the guy was starting to sound like a rich snob.

  


“Are you sure?” Rhys asked to clarify. “Depending on what's wrong, the treatment could be very expensive.”

  


Jack just rolled his eyes. _Rolled his damn eyes_ , right in front of Rhys. What a jerk, he was starting to think.

  


“ _Yeah_ , kiddo,” he said with an emphasis. “I'm sure.”

  


The doctor shrugged. “Okay then. The receptionist will get you the papers to sign. We'll be in the first room on the left past the green door if you’d like to join us once you're done.”

  


“'Kay,” was all Jack gave in response before he sought out the receptionist’s attention, leaning with exaggeration on the counter top.

  


Finally leaving reception, Rhys lead the girl and the doberman to the back and into the exam room he'd reserved. The girl removed the leash upon Rhys' instruction and watched curiously as the doctor lifted her dog up entirely on his own, setting him down onto the silver exam table.

  


“What’s your name, by the way?” Rhys asked. While he waited for an answer he began to look over Warrior, palpating around his body to see if anything was causing the dog pain. Nothing looked wrong externally.

  


“Oh, um, Angel,” the girl replied quietly in the background. Rhys smiled. The girl was a bit soft spoken but she seemed very sweet in comparison to her father.

  


“Well, Angel, why don’t you tell me what’s been going on with Warrior.”

  


  


\- - - - -

  


  


Jack could have sworn he'd spent ages signing all those damn papers. And to think he thought his own company was bad. By the time he was finished he assumed Warrior's exam would have been done and over with, but Angel and the vet had yet to come back out. He considered staying in the waiting room for them to come back, but he also wanted to know what was going on with his – well, _Angel's_ – dog. The doc had told him to join them in the room if he felt like it, so he did just that.

  


Making his way past the specified green door, he noticed a whiteboard on the exam room door straight to the left that had his name neatly written on it. He opened the door immediately without so much as a knock. Right away he spotted Warrior up on a table with Rhys standing in front of him, back turned to the doorway. Angel was standing on the opposite side of the table, way up close and watching the vet performing his examination. It couldn't be _that_ interesting to watch, could it? All he'd ever seen vets do in the past was listen to stuff using those weird devices. Stethoscopes they were called, if he remembered correctly. Now that he looked closer, he realized he didn't even see one around Rhys' neck.

  


His brows furrowed. “Damn, did you even start yet?” Jack asked, glancing around to see if he saw any kind of assessment tools laying around as he stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him. There was nothing to be found. How the hell was this guy examining his dog without any kind of equipment? He was about to open his mouth to ask the same question out loud, but then the doctor turned away from Warrior and faced him, revealing a glowing blue eye.

  


“Yeah, I did,” Rhys said simply. But Jack hadn't even registered the words. He was stunned.

  


_No_ _way_ , he thought. _No freakin’ way_.

  


The guy had a goddamn ECHO eye. One of _his_ company's limited edition experimental products. Of all the places he thought he'd see one, he would never in a million years have imagined it being at a veterinary clinic. For one, not that many of the things were even produced. They were very rare. Not only that, but a lot of the people that received the implant actually _died_ since it was such an invasive and complicated surgery _._ And if he remembered correctly, a lot of them were far more tough looking than this kid. How did such a scrawny, leggy little thing like him survive?

  


While Jack was too busy staring at Rhys’ face, he didn’t even realize the doctor was growing ever more concerned by the minute. Even Angel was giving her father a look of confusion now.

  


“Uh… are you alright?” Rhys asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow as he briefly looked over Jack. What the heck was wrong?

  


Without even thinking, Jack got close – like, really close – to Rhys. He closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. He was so used to his own employees letting him do whatever he wanted that he'd developed an unfortunate tendency of having zero respect for personal space. And if that wasn't bad enough in itself, he also _grabbed_ the doctor's chin and moved his head around so he could find- “Oh, there it is.”

  


Jack was eyeing the neural port located on Rhys’ left temple. How had he missed that before? He would have gotten a better look at it, but he was swiftly interrupted by the doctor grasping the offending hand and shoving it away.

  


“What the heck are you _doing_?” Rhys asked angrily, his face red and frustration clear in his voice. He was giving Jack a dangerous look as he rubbed at his chin where he'd just been manhandled.

  


“Ah geez, sorry kiddo,” Jack laughed heartily now. “I'll take you to dinner first next time, promise.”

  


“Don't _ever_ do that again,” the other growled, not accepting at all of the attempt at humor. Or the flirt. Whatever it was supposed to have been. “Or I'm going to have to ask you to leave.” There was no way he was going to let this guy to walk into _his_ clinic and think something like that was an acceptable form of behavior.

  


It caught Jack off guard. He hadn't expected such a flaring attitude from such a scrawny looking thing. But he actually liked it, he thought. He liked it a _lot_. The guy had some spunk in him.

  


“Alright, alright, my bad,” he apologized, holding up his hands defensively for a moment. “Just checkin' out that sweet ECHO eye ya got there. You know, that _my_ company made. Pretty cool shit, huh?” He smirked, wondering if he’d get any sort of reaction to that.

  


Oh, he definitely did.

  


“What? Wait...” Rhys' whole demeanor changed. He went from ultra pissed to something Jack would only describe as bewildered. “I don’t… What did you just say?”

  


In the background of the scene, Angel scoffed quietly. “Seriously, dad?”

  


Jack winked in exaggeration towards Angel. “God, why...” he heard her mumble, and he nearly snorted with laughter. Meanwhile, he opted to ignore Rhys’ question. “Man, it's been so long since I've even seen one of those. Guess you were part of our little lab rat group, huh? Wow, that was like what, five or six years ago?”

  


“ _What?!_ ”

  


For at least a solid five minutes after that, Rhys remained (mostly) speechless as Jack continued to blabber on and tease the poor guy. The DVM’s face was flushed a bright red, whether out of embarrassment or frustration it was hard to tell, and Angel watched unamused as the two of them carried on in a pathetic back and forth exchange where Jack was clearly winning, if there was anything to be won. Her dad was clearly having way too much fun with himself. She’d heard quite enough, she decided.

  


“Hey,” the girl spoke up bluntly, her sharp blue eyes trying to stare both of them down. “My dog. _Right here_. Still needs help.” She gestured to Warrior, who was just laying down on the exam table now, lazily watching the two men as they bantered on.

  


Angel didn’t even get as much as a glance, though. The two had long since gone into their own little world.

  


“Come on, let me just touch it, I bet it feels really weird. Ooh! Is it warm or cold?” Jack ogled, reaching a hand up toward the DVM's neural port.

  


_Oh, hell no,_ Rhys thought.

  


While he tried his best to stop the older man from getting his hand on his port, he failed miserably. Jack easily slipped past his 'defenses' and plopped his finger down right on top it of.

  


_Un_ fucking _believeable._

  


Next came a sound so loud it made even Warrior flinch. Rhys had slapped Jack straight across the face, apparently forgetting he was still at work. Or maybe he just didn’t care. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Even if he _was_ the infamous Handsome Jack, _no one_ was going to get away with shit like that. Not in _his_ clinic.

  


“What did I just say to you earlier?!” He yelled. Jack blinked in surprise. Not so much at the fact he got slapped, because he totally had that coming, but because even after being told who he was, this Rhys guy still had the gall to strike him like that.

  


It was a good thing the exam rooms were very, very sound proof.

  


  


\- - - - -

  


  


After a sustained argument about why Rhys shouldn't kick Jack out of the clinic, they had settled into an awkward silence. Rhys was still fuming, and Jack stood there with his arms crossed as he stared at one of the walls, a red mark visible across his right cheek. He'd deserved it, he knew. He honestly wasn’t mad about it even though it stung like hell. He could have his lawyers shut the clinic down in a minute’s time, but he wasn’t that cold hearted, especially since he was the one that started the whole argument to begin with. He was actually starting to feel a bit guilty for pissing the guy off so much because now the room was horribly silent, and the air between them felt increasingly heavy as the time passed. Angel, meanwhile, was on her phone trying to pretend she'd seen none of it.

  


“Last thing I'm gonna check is his mouth... let's see.” Rhys activated his eye, wherein it began to glow a bright blue as he used his hands to gently coax open Warrior's mouth. The doberman reluctantly complied.The vet was scanning for damage, oddities, or anything else he could find that could lead him to a diagnosis for the poor canine.

  


When he looked towards the back of Warrior's throat, he noticed that a few particles had lit up in his vision. “That's odd,” he whispered quietly to himself. It had caught Jack’s attention though, and the man turned to watch the younger male at work. Enhancing the view, Rhys ran a scan of the mysterious substance. “Ah. Yeah, that’d do it,” he stated, moving back a step to open a drawer under the exam table. He pulled out a small capped needle and opened it, not wasting any time pricking the dog in the ear with it. Warrior whined a bit but didn’t make much of an effort to retaliate.

  


“The hell?” Jack questioned, wondering why the guy had just randomly poked his dog. “What was that for?”

  


“Blood test,” Rhys answered stalely as a tiny drop of blood seeped through and he collected it onto the needle. He held off the spot he’d poked with his fingers so he could stop the bleeding while simultaneously starting a scan on the sample he’d gotten.

  


A moment later, Jack could see the bright light emitting from the ECHO eye fade. Rhys tossed the needle into a ‘sharps’ container, where all the rest of the dirty or contaminated stuff went. “I think Warrior may have gotten into some chocolate. Not enough to hurt him, but apparently enough to make his stomach upset. He should be fine in a day or so,” Rhys declared, finally making eye contact with Jack again after he’d stubbornly refrained from doing so up until now. Jack cleared his throat awkwardly. The vet’s mismatched eyes were definitely judging him.

  


“Oh...” Angel chimed in, looking up from her phone. She must have been listening. “I was wondering where the rest of that candy bar went off to. I thought Tim ate it, I left it on the counter,” she said shyly. “Oops...” Jack gave her a funny look before turning to Rhys.

  


“How’d you figure that out by staring at it?” he asked.

  


Rhys answered him smoothly. “I have my ECHO’s system set up to detect anything substances harmful to animals. It sensed it almost right away, so I checked his toxicity levels, which fortunately aren’t that high.”

  


“Huh. That was never a function we added.”

  


“Hm. No, it wasn’t. I added it myself,” Rhys stated smugly.

  


Jack raised a brow at that. “You programmed something into there yourself, did ya?”

  


The vet only nodded. “Anyway, I can send you home with some medication for nausea if you’d like. I’d recommend it or he’s going to get dehydrated quickly if he keeps vomiting.”

  


“Oh, uh. Sure, that’d be cool.”

  


Rhys gave a quiet grunt, heading over to a laptop in the far corner of the room. It looked like he was putting in notes. “You can meet me back in the lobby,” he finally said.

  


Angel got off of her phone and Jack got Warrior down from the table where his daughter then reattached the leash to his collar. “Wanna head out there, Angel? I’ll meet you in just a minute,” Jack said, and she agreed, exiting the exam room with Warrior in a slow tow behind her. Once she had closed the door, Jack turned to Rhys to find him still frivolously typing away at the keyboard. He stood there in silence for a moment before taking a few steps closer.

  


“Hey, uh, doc,” he inquired gently, stopping maybe three feet away from the brunette.

  


A very quite ‘hm’ was all he received in response. But he wouldn’t have that. He wanted to try and make it up to the guy for being such a dick. Even he had to admit he probably went over the top earlier.

  


Besides, he thought. The guy was kinda _cute_.

  


“I’m, uh... I’m sorry.”

  


Rhys suddenly stopped typing.

  


Jack tried his best to make light of the conversation, not that he was very good at it. “I guess I got a bit carried away, huh? Won’t happen again, pumpkin, promise.”

  


“Just when I thought you were getting somewhere,” the DVM scoffed, but this time his tone sounded lighter and he actually turned away from the computer to meet the other man’s eyes, their mismatched colors interlocking.

  


“You know, for an all powerful CEO, you’re kind of an asshole,” Rhys said with a smirk. Maybe even a mischievous glint in his eye. “At least you apologized. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  


Jack laughed, taking the words as a challenge. “Oh yeah? Well you’re quite the smartass for someone that’s 90% _legs_. I wasn’t sure you had room for any brains.”

  


“What, you were looking?” Rhys asked accusingly, though the sarcasm was obvious.

  


“I hate to break it to ya, kiddo, but it’s hard _not_ to, there’s not much else to look at.”

  


The vet chuckled this time.

  


Jack decided he liked the sound of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! There will be more to come soon. <3


End file.
